About
- Comment on Recent decision:Safeguard measures are “emergency” measures wrt increased imports of particular products. Such measures can consist of quantitative import restrictions or increase in import duty.
- Guiding principles while applying safeguard measures:
- they may be imposed only when imports of a particular product have caused or threaten to cause serious injury to the importing Member's domestic industry.
- they be applied on a non-selective (i.e., most-favoured-nation, or “MFN”) basis;
- such measures must be temporary;
- they be progressively liberalized while in effect; and
- the Member imposing them must pay compensation to the Members whose trade is affected.
- Agreement on Safeguards:
- The Agreement on Safeguards sets the above mentioned rules for application of safeguard measures pursuant to Article XIX of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), 1994.
- It was negotiated because GATT member were applying variety of ‘grey area’ measures (bilateral voluntary export restraints, orderly marketing agreements, and similar measures) to limit imports of certain products.
- In India, the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 has been amended to include various related provisions.
- The move is aimed towards helping the domestic solar cell manufacturers who are facing tough competition from cheap Chinese imports.
- However, according to analysts, this could affect existing projects dependent on cheap imports.
‘Serious injury’ means significant impairment in the position of a domestic industry.
‘Threat of serious injury’ is threat that is clearly imminent as shown by facts, and not based on mere allegation, conjecture or remote possibility.
